This invention relates to improvements in cockpits for military aircraft and in particular, to improvements which protect the pilot of such an aircraft from the adverse effects of high "g" forces and laser weapons.
It has been found that when an aircraft is carrying out manoeuvres involving forces of more than 8 g, the pilot needs to be in an almost supine position if he is to remain conscious (even when wearing the conventional "g" suits).
Ejection seats which are moveable from an upright position to a reclining position have been proposed for use in high speed aircraft. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,981,465 (Sinnett et al). For most flying operations, the pilot selects the upright position. For high-speed manoeuvres, he reclines the seat so that his tolerance to "g" forces is improved.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,981,465 (Sinnett et al), however provides no solution to the problem of protecting the pilot from a laser attack via the transparent aircraft canopy.
It is an object of this invention to provide an ejection seat which will facilitate the protection of the pilot from high "g" forces and from laser weapons.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an ejection seat in which the ejection sequence can be initiated when the seat is in any of its operating configurations.